Significance of serum IgM anti-HBc in chronic hepatitis B virus infection.
J Med Virol
; 36(1): 16-20, 1992 Jan.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-1573387
Because of widely differing reports on the significance of IgM anti-HBc in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, paired sera and liver biopsies from 49 patients with chronic HBV infection were analysed for serum IgM anti-HBc, HBsAg titre, HBeAg/anti-HBe, HBV DNA, serum aspartate transaminase, intrahepatic HBcAg expression, and liver histology. High levels of IgM anti-HBc, in the diagnostic range of acute hepatitis B (greater than 1.2), were detected in seven patients (14.3%) and a total of 34 patients (69.6%) had an index of more than 0.2. No correlation was found between IgM anti-HBc and the serum markers of active viral replication or HBsAg titre but it correlated significantly with intrahepatic expression of cytoplasmic HBcAg (r2 = 0.165, P = 0.002). IgM anti-HBc also correlated with active liver histology (P = 0.015) but there was a considerable overlap of the IgM anti-HBc index values between the various disease groups, indicating a poor specificity. Serial assessment of IgM anti-HBc in eight patients treated with interferon-alpha (four responders) showed an increase in IgM anti-HBc in three out of four patients corresponding to the e-seroconversion period followed by a drop in IgM anti-HBc levels. However, an increase in IgM anti-HBc was also seen in one non-responder, indicating that this feature is not unique to interferon-alpha responders. These data indicate that serum IgM anti-HBc cannot be used alone as a certain diagnostic measure of HBV replication nor in the prediction of liver histology.
Buscar en Google
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Inmunoglobulina M
/
Hepatitis B
/
Antígenos del Núcleo de la Hepatitis B
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Med Virol
Año:
1992
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos